Page 173 - Environment
SC raps Haryana for allowing construction in forest area of Aravalli hills
The Supreme Court Friday came down heavily on the Haryana government for passing amendments to an act which allows construction in Aravalli hills, saying the step will destroy the forest and this cannot be permitted. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta asked the state not to take any further action on the law and termed it "shocking" that the Haryana government has taken this step despite being told earlier by the apex court not to do so. On February 27, the Haryana Assembly had passed amendments to an act, opening up thousands of acres of land to real estate and other non-forest activity that were protected under it for over a century. Chief Minister M L Khattar had said the Punjab Land Preservation (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2019, was the "need of the hour", adding that it was a "very old" act and much has changed over a period of time. The top court was dealing with a matter in which it had earlier directed demolition of illegal constructions in forest area of Aravalli .
Google uses AI to predict wind energy output
In collaboration with its Britain-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) subsidiary DeepMind, Google has developed a system to predict wind power output 36 hours ahead of actual generation.
Washington Gov. Inslee joins Democratic presidential field
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee will seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, mixing calls for combating climate change and highlights of his liberal record with an aggressive critique of President Donald Trump. The 68-year-old governor is launching his bid Friday in Seattle, following recent visits to the first primary state of New Hampshire and the early caucus state of Nevada. "We went to the moon and created technologies that have changed the world our country's next mission must be to rise up to the most urgent challenge of our time: defeating climate change," Inslee says in a video announcement ahead of a public announcement later Friday in Seattle. Inslee is the first governor to join a Democratic primary that has been dominated by senators. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper also are eyeing presidential campaigns. It will not be easy for Inslee to garner attention with six prominent senators Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand
Fresh SC plea for not evicting forest dwellers, seeks SIT on illegal acquisition of tribal land
A fresh petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking direction to the authorities not to evict any forest dweller and setting up of an SIT to look into illegal acquisition of tribal land in the country. The plea, filed by Chhattisgarh-based Tarika Tarangini Larka, has also sought a direction to the Centre not to allot possession of any forest land belonging to tribals to anyone other than 'Adivasis' residing in that particular area. The apex court had Thursday stayed its February 13 order directing 21 states to evict 11.8 lakh illegal forest dwellers whose claims over the forest land have been rejected by the authorities. Advocate M L Sharma, appearing for Larka, mentioned the petition Friday for urgent listing before a bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and S K Kaul. The bench, while referring to the order passed by another bench on Thursday in the related matter, told Sharma that the February 13 order has already been stayed. However, when Sharma pressed for early listing ..
NE state capitals to be get broad-gauge rail link by 2020
All the state capitals of the northeast, as per the vision document of the Indian Railways, would be connected by broad-gauge rail link by 2020, the General Manager of Construction Wing of Northeast Frontier Railway, N K Prasad, said here Friday. Prasad said this while taking part in the monthly Inter Media Publicity Coordination Committee (IMPCC) meeting at the North East Frontier Railway (NF Railway) office in Guwahati, a PIB release said. Apart from completing the broad-gauge link by 2020, NF's another goal is conversion of the meter-gauge lines to broad-gauge lines to provide faster connectivity, the PIB release quoted Prasad as saying. A total number of 43 projects are underway within the jurisdiction of the NF Railway, the release said. Out of the 43 projects, 14 projects have been completed, three projects are waiting for clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), and four projects are at the initial stage of planning, it said. The various ...
Climate change affected fisheries globally: Study
Climate change has taken a toll on several of the world's fisheries, and overfishing has magnified the problem, researchers have warned.
ADB to provide highest ever USD 926 mn infra loan for Mumbai metro
The Asian Development Bank will provide a record USD 926 million (around Rs 6,500 crore) to operationalise two lines of the Mumbai Metro Rail System, said an official statement Friday. The two lines are expected to ease the distress of millions of commuters each day and help provide a cleaner, less congested city, the release said after the loan agreement was signed between ADB and the central government here. "The single largest infrastructure project loan in ADB history - approved by the ADB Board on February 26 will help fund lines 2A (Dahisar to D.N. Nagar), 2B (D.N. NagarBandraMandale), and 7 (Dahisar [East] to Andheri [East]), totaling about 58 kilometers (km)," it said. The project will fund 63 six-car trains, signalling and safety systems, and help establish a new dedicated metro operations organisation to manage the entire metro network in Mumbai. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will implement the project. Once operational by the end of 2022, an .
SC stays Haryana law allowing construction in Aravalli region
"It is really shocking. You are destroying the forest. It is not permissible," a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said."Don't try to overrule the order," the bench told the Haryana government while giving a warning that it should not try to invite contempt of court proceedings.The Haryana Assembly had on Wednesday passed an amendment to the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, opening thousands of acres of land under the Aravalli and Shivalik ranges for real estate development and mining.The apex court in an earlier order had said that there should not be any construction in the Aravalli area.
Highway projects worth Rs 5,000 cr underway to decongest Delhi-NCR: Gadkari
Highway projects worth Rs 5,000 crore are underway to decongest the National Capital Region, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said Friday. Transport Minister Gadkari was addressing a gathering while laying the foundation stone of a Rs 3,580 crore highway project here to decongest Delhi. The over 59-km long highway project will start at Ring Road-DND junction and passing through Kalindi bypass and Faridabad-Ballabhgarh bypass, it will finish at the interchange of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at KMP. "Highway projects worth over Rs 5,000 crore are underway to decongest NCR Delhi," Ministry of Road Transport and Highways quoted Gadkari as saying in a statement. Reiterating the government's commitment for developing the capital city on international standards, providing world class transport amenities and reducing the high levels of pollution, Gadkari said work on the 59-km project will begin within two months and the entire project will be completed in two years, it said. "He thanked the state ...
SECI auctions 750 MW solar capacity at Rs 2.48/unit
Acme, Fortum, Palimarwar and Sitara emerged as the successful bidders, quoting tariff of Rs 2.48 per unit, for 750 MW solar energy capacities auction conducted by state-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a source said. The solar tariff of Rs 2.48 per unit quoted in the this auction was close to Rs 2.44 per unit achieved for the first time in May, 2017, in the auction conducted for Bhadla solar park. Acme has bagged 250 MW capacity project in the reverse auction held Friday, while Fortum, Palimarwar and Sitara won 250 MW, 40 MW and 100 MW, respectively. The second lowest tariff was offered by Rs 2.49 per cent unit for 360 MW. The SECI had invited solar tenders for 750 MW capacities to be executed at any location in India. Technical bids totalling 1,620 MW were received against the tendered capacity of 750 MW by 13 companies. "I am confident that with this addition of 250 MW capacity, ACME will strive to achieve highest efficiency in solar power generation and strengthen ...
SC pulls up Haryana for taking away protection to Aravali forest cover
The Supreme Court on Friday took a dim view of the Haryana Assembly amending the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900 taking away the protection to the forest cover in Aravali and exposing nearly 28,000 acres of land in Gurugram and Faridabad to private builders and land sharks.
Work on 36 new waterways likely to begin by March: IWAI
The government is committed to developing national waterways, and work on 36 of the 106 newly declared waterways is likely to start by March, IWAI Chairman Jalaj Shrivastava said Friday. The government declared 106 national waterways in 2016 in addition to the existing five, taking India's total navigable inland waterways to 20,000 km. "The work on 36 national waterways should begin by March," the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) chief said addressing India Infrastructure Summit here. He said about 55 million tonne of cargo was handled on national waterways in 2017-18 and given the trend the 150 MT target for 2021-22 is likely to be achieved before the deadline. He said water transport will also give a fillip to growth by reducing logistics cost in the country. Shrivastava said 2,000 tonne of cargo could be transported through inland waterways at an operating cost of about Rs 1.12 per tonne in comparison to Rs 3 per tonne through roadways. He said water transport was not ...
Patnaik inaugurates two power generation units of OPGC
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday inagurated the third and fourth units of the state-owned Odisha Power Generation's (OPGC) Ib Thermal Power Station at Banharpali in Jharsuguda district. The chief minister also inaugurated a coal mine at Manoharpur in Sundargarh district through video conference. The coal mines at Manoharpur will feed coal to the two new power units of the ITPS. "Once commissioned, these two thermal units, built at an investment of Rs 15,000 crore, will provide additional 1,320 MW electricity to the state for the next 25 years," Patnaik said. "Odisha has created a history in power generation. Every household in all villages across the state have access to electricity," he said. The state government also plans to construct a new railway line transport raw materials from the Manoharpur coal mines to OPGC, Patnaik said. The Manoharpur Coal Mines will supply 8 MT coal to the ITPS annually. The state government owns the Odisha Coal and Power Limited
Adani starts solar panel retailing in Rajasthan
The Adani Group's solar manufacturing arm has ventured into the retail business of solar panels in the state through channel partner Ahinsa Solar. Chief marketing officer of Adani Solar, Prashant Mathur, said the company plans to collaborate with a channel partner for every state to expand its retail footprint across the country. The channel partner in the state will be responsible for all the retail requirements. It will be assigned an exclusive territory to manage orders of solar panels up to 150KW and be responsible for overall lead generation, conversion and service. Rajasthan is one of India's highly solar developed market due to availability of ample sunlight and state policy that supports abundant solar power generation. On the retail front, it has a market of 60 MW sales, of which Adani Solar will target an aggressive 50 per cent market share - 30 mw in the first year of operations in the state, he said.
Telangana aims to procure 4.4 million tonne paddy for Rabi
The Telangana government aims to procure 4.4 million tonnes of paddy for the Rabi season. About 4.5 million tonnes of paddy yield is expected during the season from nine lakh hectare of land, an official release said Friday. Telangana Civil Supplies department procured 1.8 million tonnes during the kharif and 3.6 lakh tonnes of paddy was procured for the Rabi season during 2017-18 totaling 5.4 million tonnes. During the recent Kharif season alone the state government procured 4.1 million tonnes in 2018-19, Commissioner of Civil Supplies Akun Sabharwal said. Minister for Agriculture Niranjan Reddy instructed officials to take necessary steps to purchase paddy from farmers, it added.
Rosatom announces Wild Edens Photo Contest
Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation announced the 'Wild Edens Photography Contest' as a part of its Wild Edens project.The contest will be held from March 1 - 10, 2019. Applications are open for all amateur and aspiring photographers from all over India. In order to participate in the competition, one should post their wildlife photographs on social media using the #WildEdensPhotography, #WildEdensSouthAsia hashtags.Participants can upload up to three photographs in the following categories: Wilderness Landscape, Birds, Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians, Insects and other Invertebrates and Underwater Wonders. The photographs will not just show how talented the artists are but hopefully inspire people to visit India and explore its wonders."Wildlife photography is a very challenging form of photography. It requires a lot of patience, hard work and dedication to capture the one shot that stands out. We are providing a platform to these budding wildlife photographers to showcase their
China says it 'regrets' WTO ruling in favour of US on subsidies
China said on Friday it "regrets" a World Trade Organization ruling in Washington's favour over a dispute on Chinese subsidies to wheat and rice producers. The decision comes as the world's top two economies try to hammer out an agreement to settle a long-running trade row that has rattled global markets. The United States in 2016 alleged that China doled out $100 billion in "market price support" for wheat and rice as well as corn production, above levels agreed to at the Geneva-based WTO. "The expert group did not support the Chinese position on the calculation of the subsidy level for our minimum purchase price policy on wheat and rice. The Chinese side regrets this," the commerce ministry said in a statement. China is the world's largest producer of wheat and rice, holding significant sway over world markets. WTO experts said they had found that each year from 2012 to 2015, China's market price support for wheat, Indica rice and Japonica rice "exceeded its 8.5 per cent de minimis .
No load-shedding this year, says Maha energy minister
There will be no load-shedding in Maharashtra this year as it has adequate coal stocks for power generation, state Energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said. Addressing reporters here Thursday, he said the state was on the top as far as power generation from renewable sources of energy was concerned. "We had transmitted a record 24970 MW electricity on March 3, 2018. Electricity generation in Maharashtra had never crossed 20000 MW before this. This year too, we are fully prepared as we have adequate coal stock. There will be no load-shedding in the state this year," he said. He said six lakh agricultural pumps will be shifted to the solar power network this year. "Maharashtra is at top slot in renewable energy generation. We reached 3500 MW in wind energy and 1000 MW in co-generation. It is our mission to bring 47 lakh agricultural pumps in the state under solar power in the next five years. We plan to shift six lakh pumps to solar power this year and provide ...
Australia experiences hottest summer on record
Australia has experienced its hottest summer on record, the country's Bureau of Meteorology said on Friday.
Huge, 'strange looking' fish washes up on California beach
A seven feet long, "strange looking" fish has washed up on a California beach, leaving researchers baffled about the origins and whereabouts of the species, the media reported.
